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Nothing is wanting...



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Use the present progressive tenses in the passive form | agree to all international aid?
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Nothing is wanting... Wed May 21, 2008 8:12 am  Nothing is wanting...
 

Hi,
Here is the entry of "entreaty" I came across on thefreedictionary.com:

Quote:
entreaty
Definition: (noun) An earnest request or petition; a plea.
Synonyms: appeal, prayer
Usage: Nothing is wanting but to have you here, and it is our particular wish and entreaty that you would come to us as soon as you can.

=> I find the phrase "Nothing is wanting" here so strange. Could you please clarify for me?

Many thanks in advance
Nessie
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Nothing is wanting... Wed May 21, 2008 9:24 am  Nothing is wanting...
 

noun: a specific feeling of desire
noun: the state of needing something that is absent or unavailable (Example: "For want of a nail the shoe was lost")

Nothing is wanting but to have you here = The only thing we want is to have you here
Molly
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Nothing is wanting... Wed May 21, 2008 10:56 am  Nothing is wanting...
 

I have a feeling that 'wanting' here is a kind of adjective and 'nothing is wanting' is close to 'nothing is lacking' and not strange.

BTW, just out of curiosity, it seems to me that in this particular case 'wanting' and 'wanted' could become 'synonyms':

Nothing is wanting but to have you here.
Nothing is wanted but to have you here.

That's one reason why I am hypnotized by English for its unstiffness and kaleidoscope.

Haihao
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Nothing is wanting... Wed May 21, 2008 12:31 pm  Nothing is wanting...
 

.
You're right, Haihao. Very Happy You might also say that 'wanting' in that expression means 'missing'.

I might reword this way:
Nothing is wanting but to have you here = There is nothing (else) that I want except to have you here.
.
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Nothing is wanting... Wed May 21, 2008 12:33 pm  Nothing is wanting...
 

Thank you so very much, Amy. Your rewording convinced me completely. Smile

Haihao
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Nothing is wanting... Wed May 21, 2008 14:48 pm  Nothing is wanting...
 

"we/they/it want/s for nothing" and "regarding us/them/it, etc., nothing is wanting" = we/they/it have/has all we/they/it, etc. need/s

Nothing is wanting but to have you here = we have all we need but/except/apart from you being here
Molly
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Nothing is wanting... Thu May 22, 2008 18:34 pm  Nothing is wanting...
 

Many thanks to you all.
Actually, if it were "nothing is wanted..." or "nothing is missing...", it would be quite easy to understand. I just find "nothing is wanting..." here so strange because this is the first time I see the syntax

I just want to ask one more question: Is this syntax correct in formal English or is it informal? And could you please tell me some other of verbs that are used this way?
Thank you very much
Nessie
nessie
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Nothing is wanting... Fri May 23, 2008 21:14 pm  Nothing is wanting...
 

Hi Nessie

The word 'wanting' is used as an adjective in your sentence.
'Nothing is wanting' is basically the same structure as 'nothing is interesting'.

'Nothing is wanting' is fairly formal.

Using 'want' as a verb, you could say 'She wants for nothing'.
.
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Nothing is wanting... Sat May 24, 2008 0:19 am  Nothing is wanting...
 

Quote:
I just want to ask one more question: Is this syntax correct in formal English or is it informal?

I'd say it's quite formal and a little dated, for some.
Molly
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Nothing is wanting... Sat May 24, 2008 0:29 am  Nothing is wanting...
 

nessie wrote:
And could you please tell me some other of verbs that are used this way?


Not another verb; but another idiom with "wanting", from the Times:

1. Carlo Cudicini and Hilário were found wanting when called on to fill in last season for Cech.

i.e. "(the reserve goalkeepers) CC and H. were found to be deficient in quality, when required to take the place of Cech (the first-choice goalkeeper) last season".

(If you are "found wanting in X", your deficiency in the quality X is revealed.)

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Nothing is wanting... Sat May 24, 2008 0:32 am  Nothing is wanting...
 

Here's another:

It had always distressed him that the West and the Eastern bloc could both budget so generously for what he considered to be the evils of the nuclear industry while millions in the Third World were left wanting for food.

Death train. MacNeill, Alastair. London: Fontana Press, 1989.

And there's also:

nothing is lacking
Molly
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Use the present progressive tenses in the passive form | agree to all international aid?
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